Results tagged “opera”

AUSTIN CITY SHIMMY: Bob Schneider made our sister site Austinist's highlight reel for SXSW back in March--winner of the SXSW Band of the Year and Best Male Vocalist awards, Schneider is touring for his new album Tarantula. Country, roots-rock, call it what you will, just don't expect a 45-minute set. With 15 or so albums to draw from, Schneider has more songs up his sleeve than a double-sided LP. Plus, he's at the Triple Door, so you can just sit back and make yourself comfortable.

We have to start here by jumping in and saying that this is easily one of the most exciting weekends of theatre we've seen in town in months--two festivals running, genre-breaking opera, ballet crossing over into Broadway show tune territory, two shows that have had their runs extended (, you've lost your bloody mind. It doesn't get better than this!

BEGLEY VISION: We don't know about you but we are stoked about this visit from Ed Begley, Jr., who wants to tell us all about--and write his name on--his new book, Living Like Ed: A Guide To Eco-Friendly Life. It's not clear if Ed bicycled up here from L.A., but you know he could have. The Siskiyou Pass would have been a challenge on a bike this time of year, though, so maybe he stuck with his electric car or jet or what-have-you. The great thing about Ed, really, is that he's (in)famous in L.A. for riding that bicycle--you know, holy shit! a bicycle! A man is riding a bicycle! L.A. could just choke on its exhaust and it wouldn't bug us. If Ed was out of town at the time, we mean.

SUB POP HEROES: The Murder City Devils are back, and they're probably not happy about it. But if ever the time was right for their post-punk gloom and doom, it's now. It's like when Warren Zevon was talking about having cancer and he was all, "This is the kind of thing I've been talking about." (He also said, "Enjoy every sandwich.") And just so you know, Sound on the Sound is "stoked" about this show.

TOP BRASS: The Rebirth Brass Band hails from New Orleans, and we're told by someone in the know that "they put on the most fun live show you will ever see in your life. EVAR." The 9-member ensemble features a trio of trumpets, two trombones, a saxophone, a tuba, a snare drum, and a bass drum. They're the only band on the bill and they're "playing all night"--which may not be hyperbole--so prepare to get brassed out.

HALF-NAKED BOOTY GIRLS: The 2 Live Crew outta Miami is at Nectar tonight, and you know what that means: half-naked booty girls, according to local emcee Wizdom. "I believe it," he told us with anticipation. The 2 Live Crew has been holding down the sexually explicit end of hiphop since the '80s. Warning: there might be juggalos present. Locals Mad Rad, Champagne Champagne, and Jay Barz open for this promisingly profane and colorful evening.

God damn Bellini for writing an opera that requires four incredibly brilliant bel canto singers. And damn him again for a piece that runs well over three hours without a skerrick of a plot. God damn Seattle Opera for waiting until now to stage this rough beast.

The Seattle Opera Young Artists performance of Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and Ravel’s Enchanted Child left audiences satisfied last weekend, delivering two acts full of family humor and ironic tales of greed.

The Puget Sound area boasts a blossoming theatre and art culture with a variety of up-and-coming artists. It keeps us very busy, and this weekend is no exception, when Seattle Opera’s talented Young Artists are presenting Puccini's Gianni Schicchi and Ravel's Enchanted Child. The two one-act productions open this evening at the Theatre at Meydenbauer Center in downtown Bellevue.

Picture a small town in the south (southern Italy in the 1950s, as it happens) where people talk slow and not much happens until the sun goes down and the church bells ring. (Think Faulkner, Song of the South, Porgy and Bess.) Then a travelling circus comes to town, a whole troupe of clowns (those irrespressible pagliacci), squeezed into a real clown car, a tiny black Fiat 500. You can guess what happens next: sex, jealousy, violence and death.